-
21 in 10, Part II: Non-Fiction
Reign of Terror (2021) Spencer Ackerman’s Reign of Terror is not a blow-by-blow account of any particular battle or war that comprises the War on Terror, nor does it offer gritty or poetic on-the-ground reportage. For that kind of thing, there are some wonderful books like Anand Gopal’s No Good Men Among the Living or Elliot Ackerman’s Places and…
-
21 in 10, Part I: Fiction
It wasn’t a banner year for fiction reads for me. For whatever reason, a lot of what I tried just didn’t quite click, and I didn’t find as many trending/hot novels that I loved. With that being said, I haven’t gotten to many of the critic’s choice reads of the year, and still found plenty…
-
The Glut.
Caveat: frivolous #firstworldproblems in the wake of everything else happening across the globe. A pal tweeted this the other day, and it’s stuck with me: Every day is a battle between re-watching/re-playing/re-reading/re-listening to the same things vs. Trying new stuff. — Colin Chisholm (@ColinHantsCo) February 3, 2021 I’ve been living with post-concussion symptoms for about…
-
20 for 20, Part II: Fiction
Hench, Natalie Zina Walschots (2020) “Hench” is a refreshing take on the superhero genre that has proper reverence while also appropriately taking the piss out of it. Toronto-based writer and poet Walschots puts a Millennial gig economy spin on things by following some put-upon contract workers struggling to make it as temps and entry-level professionals…
-
20 for 20, Part I: Non-fiction
Why Fish Don’t Exist, Lulu Miller (2020)A satisfying, brisk read that–in audiobook form–feels like a jumbo-sized Invisibilia or Radiolab episode in all the right ways. The story includes a few jarring and well-earned twists, and true to her science reporting pedigree, Miller turns the braided biographies of David Starr Jordan and herself into some questions…
-
9 for ’19
The best? Maybe, maybe not. Some of the most impactful nonfiction reads of the year, according to Grant: The Unhabitable Earth: Life After Warming Neither a ponderous science tome or a weepy ode to Mother Earth, David Wallace-Wells offers a devastating, very sharp, and relatively concise summary of “OK, this is how badly we’re screwed.”…